I have done a handful of bike tours ranging from two to four days, but nothing longer. During the winter I had a notion to do a longer ride this June while waiting for the snows to melt out the backcountry. The idea began as a ride to Idaho, then lengthened to include Montana, and then in practice reverted to the original Idaho idea.

Luggage-wise I used the same setup that I have developed on my shorter trips: a combination of bikepacking gear from Revelate Designs and Cleaveland Mountaineering, with small custom panniers from Velo Transit. This kept me fast and light, without the sacrifice in functionality that I think a strict bikepacking setup necessitates. I ran into other tourists along the Northern Tier, most of whom had heavier setups that they regretted when climbing mountains.

I had no mechanical failures on the trip. Not even a flat. I’m still running the same pair of Schwalbe Marathon Supremes that I purchased last December. I don’t know how many miles I have on them now, but it is somewhere north of 4,000. They have yet to have a flat and the tread, while worn, is still going strong.

Statistics

Day One: 83.8 miles

Day Two: 78.6 miles

Day Three: 60 miles

Day Four: 32.5 miles

Day Five: 53.9 miles

Day Six: 87.2 miles

Day Seven: 88.4 miles

Day Eight: 36.6 miles

Day Nine: 87 miles

Day Ten: 70.3 miles

Day Eleven: 101.3 miles

Day Twelve: 24.8 miles

Day Thirteen: 105.4 miles

Total mileage: 909.8 miles

Average daily mileage: 70 miles

I have no record of elevation change, but the trip took me over five mountain passes. I bypassed the sixth by detouring into Canada.